a blissful dreamer

Blogging about a Blog

2012-01-24T21:05:00.003-05:00

I was on Facebook a few days ago and saw a friend of mine had posted a link on another friend's wall of this blog she'd found. She said it completely brightened her day, so I clicked on the link because who doesn't want their day to get a little brighter?! Just like she said it did, the blog added a little sunshine to my day. What is this amazing blog, you ask? It's http://justlittlethings.net, a blog of all the little things: the blogger posts every day one little thing about life that most people would find happiness in. The picture I posted is one of my favorites from the blog! If you are ever down in the dumps, want to appreciate life a little more, or are just plain bored, I highly suggest you go to this blog and read as many as you want! To go through them faster, what I do is go to the Archive (on the left-hand side) and read them that way! Some are inspiring, some are "I love that!" or "I do this" things, and some are so awesome they have to go on your bucket list. What I also love about this blog is that the blogger supports UNICEF and has a link to her support/donate page on her blog. I'm all about supporting causes, and UNICEF is a great one to support! If you'd like to donate, I'm sure he/she would love for you to! It's on the left-hand side; you can't miss it! I hope this blog brightens your day like it does mine (I have it saved on my internet toolbar!) and make sure to share the joy with your friends!

**If you are bored and want to know random things that I love and make me happy, here are some of my favorites from her website from 289-588: 301, 303, 315, 320, 364, 388, 410, 421, 437, 449, 454, 472, 487, 494, 504, 508, 516, 535, 551, 564, 578, 581.

SOPA and PIPA: End Piracy, Not Liberty

2012-01-18T20:19:00.005-05:00

Today, the largest online protest in history took place over two new internet censorship bills, SOPA and PIPA. Google, Wikipedia, Reddit, Mozilla, WordPress, Tumblr, and many others decided to black out their sites to show their disapproval of these new bills (a full list of the sites that participated in today's blackout is at http://sopastrike.com/). I will tell you that I signed the petition against these bills, and you definitely should too. For all of the people that are for these bills, before you decide to butt heads with me, I urge you to watch the video, linked below, if you haven't already. It's very informative and tells you exactly what the bills are, what they will do, and the outcomes if they are put into law. I think it's very important to have an opinion, but let it come from a place of knowledge and understanding of the issue, not just because all of your family and friends feel one way and you should feel that way too or because you just want to start an argument. Here's the link to the video: http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa/ Also, to sign the petition, click on this link and fill out your name, e-mail and zip code: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/ Fight for our rights of free speech, prosperity, and privacy! We all must stand up and speak out!

Gotta love a Gentleman!

2012-01-17T19:29:00.001-05:00

Today hadn't been a great day. I couldn't fall asleep until 5 AM, causing me to wake up at noon. I also woke up feeling ill and felt ill all day until I went to class this evening. I love my World Lit class, but because of my rough day, I just wasn't feelin' it. Once class was over, I was walking to the door and a few classmates were ahead of me. One guy in my class that's originally from England was one of those people and he held open the door for me. While this happens pretty often here (it is the South, of course!), it made me smile. I said "thank you" and continued walking. He proceeded to catch up to me and start a conversation about the gross, rainy weather outside and we continued to talk until I was almost to my car. When I got into my car, I felt so much better! I know those actions were so small and were probably second nature to him, but it turned my day around completely. I LOVE gentlemen! Think about it, had he not opened the door for me, I probably wouldn't have gotten into a conversation with him and my day would have probably stayed crappy. So, my day was brightened by his gentlemanly behavior. I am so happy I was raised here in the South; I have been spoiled by Southern gentleman! I firmly believe that this is how all guys should be and as my mom has always told me, "You should never be treated by a man any less than a queen." It just makes us women feel important and special, and we all know that we need to feel that way. If you are a guy and you are reading this, please be a gentleman! You will find that it goes over very well with the ladies and will get him much farther in life than being ignorant or not a gentleman. Girls, if you have a gentleman in your life, make sure you tell him how much you appreciate him and his actions! The more they hear they are appreciated and respected, the more likely it is that they will continue to be gentlemanly. Gotta love gentleman!

Cupcakes, anyone?

2012-01-14T16:43:00.000-05:00

We all have dreams and aspirations. Some come and go, but some stick with us and actually shape our lives differently. I figured since my blog's name is "a blissful dreamer", I should share my dreams. One of my greatest dreams in life is to own a cupcake bakery. Call me crazy, but I think it'd be so much fun! I know it would be lots and lots of work, but it's totally worth it to me. Since I started high school, baking has been my go-to stress reliever. I don't know what it is about baking, but it clears my head. Every time I bake, I strive to make something that tastes as delicious as it smells. Over the past few years, I have noticed that I make cupcakes best. It's something that you can be really creative with, in taste and presentation; a pinch of this, a dab of that, and then you add whatever you want! I know all the little tricks, from making the perfect-sized cupcake to the way in which I put the icing on the top (I use a plastic baggie and cut off a tiny hole on one of the ends). It's something that I know I'm good at, so why not open a cupcake bakery?! I am in the process of trying out new flavors of cake and icing and which combinations taste best. I'm so glad I have "quality taste testers" (my roommates haha) to tell me yay or nay on certain cupcakes. This dream is one that I want to make a reality in the future, so hopefully I can continue and create some beautiful, delicious cupcakes that people will love!

Men...

2012-01-12T23:18:00.005-05:00

I was woken up this morning by my mama via telephone, and it was 7:30 AM. I considered not answering because, well, it was 7:30 AM. But since I am such a good daughter, I decided to pick up and I'm glad I did. She told me that my daddy broke his lower left leg in two places during his hockey game and had to have surgery to put in a plate and fuse the bones. Ouch. On one hand, I felt so bad for my daddy. He owns his own business and this injury makes it really hard for him to work, especially since he isn't having surgery until late next week. And it's also very painful. On the other hand, I feel like this was bound to happen. My daddy, like most men, thinks he is still as young and agile as he was 25 years ago. Despite us telling them it probably isn't the best idea, they almost always do it anyways. I don't understand why men are like this! They go and do things that us women know are just going to land them in the ER, hopefully not worse. Have you ever noticed how lots of old men have really nice cars? It's because they think they're young and hip. We all know that's definitely not true. It all goes back to them thinking they're younger than they are. I love men, I really do, but it just makes no sense to me why they do these things. My daddy decided to get back on the ice a few years ago, and my mama shrugged it off as a mid-life crisis. He's come home many times after his hockey games and his ankle is super swollen or he's covered in bruises. Mama warned him that if he ever got hurt, he better not call her because she will not be happy with him since she had warned him many times before that it wasn't the best idea that he play. I wonder if that's why one of my daddy's teammates called her in the middle of the night to tell her what happened instead of my dad...who knows! My mama wasn't actually mad, and we're sad he's having to go through all of this. All I'm saying is that sometimes men get carried away and go do crazy, stupid things and it usually ends badly. Love 'em, but they really should listen to us women; we know what we're talking about.

No Judgments

2012-01-11T19:34:00.005-05:00

Today after school, I drove to Atlanta to visit one of my best friends who goes to Georgia Tech. She had graciously let me and a friend stay in her dorm during Passion. I brought her sheets home so that I could wash them (it's the LEAST that I could do), but forgot that she started back at school the same week I did and so she was sheetless. A friend of ours was going to visit her and said he'd take them to her, but he completely forgot! So, that's how I ended up in Atlanta today. I didn't want her to be sheetless for a month! After making her bed all nice and pretty, we went out to eat dinner at a Mexican restaurant, which is both our favorites, and had a great conversation. After talking about some of the usual things, we got on the topic of judging people. This has always been a topic I tend to get irritated about because almost everyone judges someone, even me. I don't like that I do and I have become a lot better about not judging people because they are a certain way or do certain things. One of the hardest times to not be judgmental, we decided, was when your friends or family do not like someone and you judge them based on their opinions when you do not know the person well enough to judge. Even knowing someone well doesn't give anyone the right to point fingers and hold it against them, but we all do it. Some judge on things that are small and petty, others judge on big parts of the person's life. Whether it is a big or small judgement, it is still wrong! And it really makes you look bad. I mean, what does it say about you if you're judging someone you don't even know? I'm guilty of doing this as well, but what our conversation made me realize even more was how horrible I looked for doing that. I'm sure I get judged a lot, and I'm sure that people judge me for judging other people. It's not fair to the person you are judging or to yourself to do it because it could lead to worse things, like losing friends or your whole image. We judge mainly when something isn't "normal", so to speak. If it's out of the norm or it's something we don't like, we judge and that usually leads to holding it against them. I encourage you to step back and see where and who you're judging; before speaking next time, try to not be judgmental. It will make you feel better and look better to others.

One Year Later...

2012-01-10T23:23:00.007-05:00

Do you believe in miracles? If you're saying no right now, I hope this changes your mind. One year ago from today, my life changed forever. For those of you who do not know me, I will explain. I broke my back at college last year while sledding, and ended up with a spinal cord injury. I was paralyzed from the waist down and rushed into emergency surgery to fix my T-12 vertebrae and take a tiny piece of bone out of my spinal cord. The doctors told me I would never walk again. But, I am very happy to tell you that I am walking! Completely unassisted, as a matter of fact. I was determined to get on my feet, and I did just that in the first 5 weeks! It has been a crazy year to say the least, but I have grown so much physically and spiritually. While I am still not 100% healed, just the fact that I am walking is a miracle! I have defied odds. It's still really weird to think that all of that happened one year ago. In the midst of everything, I chose to have a positive attitude and make the most of my time at Shepherd, the world-renown spinal center in Atlanta where I lived for a month and did therapy. I met some incredible friends and I made lots of wonderful memories that I will cherish forever. One of those memories is getting to meet some of the Atlanta Braves players. As you can see in the picture above, I was able to talk to them, show them how I was learning to walk, and I even got a Braves hat and they all signed it! Shepherd made such an effort to make our lives as fun and exciting as they could. I can tell you first-hand how depressing it can be when you are told you won't ever walk again. I was beyond fortunate to get a second chance, but almost everyone else doesn't. I am so grateful for the opportunities I got while I was in a rough place and needed them most. God has enriched my life with so much hope and promise since my accident. I see the world completely different now, and life is so much more beautiful to me. That well known saying, "You never know what you have until it's gone", is 294823983% true. I took for granted the fact that I could walk to class and run up and down the field playing ultimate frisbee. Now I know just how fortunate I am, and I won't ever take those things for granted again. So, do you believe in miracles now? God definitely made me a stronger believer of them through all of this, and I hope you are now too!

Word of the Day: School

2012-01-09T22:51:00.004-05:00

Fortunately, or unfortunately (whichever way you want to look at it), it's that time again! College students are packing up, or have already packed, their cars to move back into their dorms or apartment to start Spring semester.While mostly all of us were thrilled to be back at school for the social aspect, the academic side is not really being welcomed with open arms. I, for one, am actually excited to be back in school! I have missed the long math problems, 5-7 page papers, and the countless hours of studying that goes into each class so that I will still have HOPE at the end of the semester. I'm sure this outlook will be shortly lived, but for now, I will have to go against the majority. My first day back only consisted of me going to Precalculus, a class that I took in high school. Most of my core classes required through my major are either easy by nature or ones that I have already taken in previous years. Oh, the joys of being an Early Childhood Education major! This is not why I chose this major, of course, but that is one of the nice perks that comes with it. I honestly don't know why we are even required to take upper thinking level classes such as these. What 5th grade math class will be drawing graphs of functions and learning the difference between set notation and interval notation? Hopefully not the 5th graders I will be teaching! I will not complain anymore about the classes I am taking; I am just happy to be back in school! Tomorrow will be my first day in my World Literature class! I ordered my books today online and while some of them look like snoozers, it could be interesting to read and talk about the different literary perspectives in different countries. We'll see how it all goes. To all of my friends and readers, if you started back at school today, I hope you have a wonderful semester! To my friends and readers that still have a week left, cherish it. Really. Stay up all night and sleep in til 2 PM. We all know that the all-nighters happen regularly, but getting up at 2 won't happen. And remember, stay in school! To all teachers, good luck with your classrooms! Here's to hoping that you get the perfect class with no misbehavers (yeah, right!). Again, best of luck to everyone and happy studying!!

Don't Quit!

2012-01-08T22:01:00.007-05:00

Today was full of great conversations! I had one with a new friend that lives in Italy and one with one of my sweet roommates. Both fit so perfectly with a passage in the bible I had just read that I knew it had to be my entry for today! Romans 12:9-16 talks about love and prayer, being there for people when they are happy, in mourning, and in need and also being "faithful in prayer". Let's talk about prayer first...I do not want to speak too much of our conversations, but I remember being in a place of dwindling faith not too long ago. After my accident was when I truly came to know and appreciate the power of prayer and how important it is in our lives. It is how we, as humans, maintain a relationship with God. Being faithful in prayer is necessary; it becomes an even greater necessity when things become hard. We all have times when we just want to give up and we feel like it's not worth it. It is in those times when we need to be praying harder! Quitting is exactly what the Enemy wants us to do, but God says to turn that around and pray for strength, courage, and fearlessness to overcome the hard times we are facing. I know sometimes it is a lot easier said than done. Believe me, I've been there. But all of us get into ruts that we cannot get ourselves out of. Who else better than God to?! I have noticed a huge change in my life since I have adopted these truths. It is always amazing to me how much power there is in prayer! Now onto love...I love these verses because they talk about being one body in Christ. He wants us to be devoted to one another, in good times and bad. Be hospitable. Live in harmony with ALL people. How amazing would our world be if we put these words into action?! We are made to love everyone, whether they are rich, poor, sick, healthy, Christian, not Christian, etc. We are to help when someone is in need, whether it be emotional, physical, or spiritual. What matters to God is us living out His commands, and this passage is God saying "love each other". I highly recommend reading these verses and holding them in your heart. So, the lessons for today: Don't quit on God, on yourself, or on anyone else! Be steadfast in prayer and be willing to help and serve others. Two very big and important things that produce amazing outcomes when put into practice!

Passion 2012: Freedom

2012-01-08T00:01:00.001-05:00

This past week, I attended Passion 2012, a Christian conference that was held at the Georgia Dome. There were about 44,000 high school seniors and college students (ages 18-25) that attended, and let me tell you…it was AWESOME!! Not only did I get some great quality time with my main man Jesus and met new friends, I got to hear about six wonderful organizations that Passion 2012 had chosen to raise money for. The theme for the week was “Freedom”, to call us into action and pursue the end of human trafficking. I had heard of human trafficking, but I did not know that 27 million people were trafficked this year. 27 MILLION! That is the greatest number of slaves there has ever been in the history of the world! I was completely astonished not only by the huge number of people being trafficked, but that it was happening not only overseas, but in the U.S. as well. Instantly, my heart ached for the victims, who are mostly women and children. The victims of trafficking are used for labor and sex and have little to no chance of escaping. I knew that I had to do something; we all needed to do something to stop this. Through the efforts of many students at the conference, we raised $3,066,670! Because of the amount of money raised, we were able to give to more organizations that are stopping human trafficking as well! I was so proud and blown away by what we had accomplished. Our generation needs to rise up and take action! What we were able to do at Passion started the movement towards ending human trafficking, and I urge you to join us in ending slavery!

If you click on the link, it will take you to the Passion 2012 page, where you can watch a video about our Freedom movement, read about the organizations, and can donate any amount you wish. Please check it out…it is worth it!! Together, we are a force for good!

http://268generation.com/passion2012/#!/do-something-now/

Hello!

2012-01-07T23:56:00.006-05:00

Hello fellow bloggers! One of my greatest passions is writing, so I figured it was time to document my thoughts, ideas, events, and memories for you all to read! My vision for this new project is a few times a week, I will post a photo, quote, or word-of-the-day and then write about it for your enjoyment. Sound like a plan? Good! If you have a topic, picture or idea you would like me to write about, you can send me an e-mail by clicking on "View my complete profile" in the About Me section at the top and them there will be a link on the bottom left of the new page that says "E-mail." I would love to get ideas and feedback on what you like to read and don’t like to read. I’m sure at this point I am boring you to death, so enjoy and happy blogging!